May 2005 Pro to Pro

Have a question, and looking for feedback from industry peers? This month, K&BDN listens in on dialogue between industry professionals, as excerpted from the KitchenBathPros.com online Designer Discussion Forum.

Raised Dishwasher

QUESTION
This is the first time for me designing a raised dishwasher for a kitchen. What are some of the challenges? Does anyone have any drawings or advice on how this is done?
-- "LizR"

RESPONSE 1
Typically, the dishwasher cabinet is raised to 40.5" and you can get a drawer under it. I only have had one instance where this didn't work. If the client is getting a Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer, it vents steam through the bottom and would ruin the finish of the cabinet beneath. It does have to go in a cabinet.
-- "Design Diva"

RESPONSE 2
Do the Fisher & Paykel drawers require treatment of the adjacent cabinets because of the steam? How do you avoid damage?
-- "Veronika"

RESPONSE 3
Depending on how far away the dishwasher will be from the sink, you should adhere to NKBA's guidelines on workspace to the left and right of the sink. Countertop space on the raised dishwasher does not count as workable countertop surface for the sink area.
-- "Jann"

RESPONSE 4
I haven't had any real concerns with the adjacent cabinets since the venting is in the toespace area. I have done turned columns on either side, though, and that hasn't turned out to be an issue.
-- "Design Diva"

Job Responsibilities

QUESTION
Is it effective to have CAD designers or 20/20 designers work solely on converting kitchen and bath design/remodel projects into CAD-20/20 drawings, so that sales associates can focus on other things, such as customer service, orders and sales? Why or why not?
--"eli4id"

RESPONSE 1
In theory, this idea makes a lot of sense. We were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to hire a very good person into this position at our company. Not only has he taken the cookie cutter-type drawings and the owners' jobs off of the salespeople's plate, he has also taken over the majority of the companies IT needs, as well.

For a mostly volume-based company, anything other than providing base bids for plans just doesn't seem as feasible for this type of position. The salesperson can check the drawings and complete the quotes along with any customer changes. Often times these are repeat plans; new quotes are provided every year, or when necessary for price increases.

Our company has a good mix of business, some volume business; we typically have a few remodels underway, and now we are growing the upper end of the business with the new showroom. The position just fits naturally with our business structure. There are now three salespeople including myself, and adding this position has made it possible for us to increase our sales.

Potential issues you may want to consider are accountability, where each position's responsibility begins/ends, pay structure changes, digital and hard copy file management, paper flow, etc. A lot changes when you add this position into your company's structure. It takes some time to sort everything out if you're really busy.

There are companies out there that have someone who does the field measuring, someone who does the drawings, others doing the selling, etc.
On the upper-end jobs, however, I still prefer to measure my own, draw my own, quote my own, and so on. Just call me old fashioned.
-- "BoxesEtc"

Upper Cabinet Height

QUESTION
In a kitchen that I am working on that has 12' ceilings, the cabinets are going to be at approximately 80" tall. That leaves quite a lot of footage to have open. Are people doing a third row to offset the height difference or should it matter?
-- "Timwalker69"

RESPONSE 1
Why are you only working to 80" high? With a 12' ceiling you should consider using 36" upper cabinets for a height of 90" at the least. Going to 42" upper cabinets to bring it up to 96" would be an even better choice visually, and there is still plenty of room for a multi-piece fascia and large crown molding without becoming too overpowering.
-- "dcdci"